Disposable absorbent articles, such as diapers, are well known in the art. These articles address the consumers' demands for increased convenience. In particular, disposable absorbent articles which minimize cleaning of the wearer after the article is soiled and removed are convenient. A particularly desired feature providing such convenience is to minimize cleaning of fecal material present on the wearer's skin after the soiled disposable absorbent article is removed.
Several attempts have been made in the art to isolate the fecal material from the skin of the wearer. Such attempts frequently relied upon a topsheet which hugged the skin of the wearer, allowing a void space to form between the topsheet and the absorbent core. Illustrative of such attempts in the art are commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 4,892,536 issued Jan. 9, 1990 to DesMarais et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,990,147 issued Feb. 5, 1991 to Freeland; U.S. Pat. No. 5,037,416 issued Aug. 6, 1991 to Allen et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,269,775 issued Dec. 14, 1993 to Freeland et al., which patents are incorporated herein by reference for the purpose of showing how to create a void space in a disposable absorbent article, such as a diaper.
It became apparent that further advances in the art were necessary. Subsequent advances interposed a spacer between the topsheet and the absorbent core. The spacer created the void space to capture and isolate the fecal material, even if the wearer was sitting. Later advances in the art recognized the desirability of making the spacers flexible and inflatable. Illustrative of such advances in the art are commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,171,236 issued Dec. 15, 1992 to Dreier et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,306,266 issued Apr. 26, 1994 to Freeland; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,330,459 issued Jul. 19, 1994 to LaVon et al., which patents are incorporated herein by reference for the purpose of showing spacers particularly suitable for use in conjunction with the present invention.
While the spacers of the aforementioned diapers have been technically successful, they have met with limited consumer acceptance. Frequently the consumer desires to remove the fecal material from the diaper and into the toilet, so that the fecal material can be flushed away--rather than discarded with the diaper in the trash. Discarding the disposable absorbent article into the trash while it still contains a significant quantity of fecal material raises sanitation concerns and causes malodors to accumulate. Unfortunately, the spacers of the prior art disposable absorbent articles retain the fecal material, still performing the intended function of isolating the fecal material from the wearer.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a disposable absorbent article having a spacer. It is further an object of the present invention to provide a disposable absorbent article having a spacer which does not retain fecal material when the disposable absorbent article is removed from the wearer and discarded. Finally, it is an object of this invention to provide a disposable absorbent article having an expulsive spacer.